PINK VELVET LAYER CAKE

Posted in Cake by sallybr

Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but wonderful for any other celebration, this is a real adorable design and not too complicated to make. However, it helps to have a smooth frosting to start with, and that can make a baker hyperventilate a bit. Don’t ask me how I know….

PINK VELVET LAYER CAKE
(slightly modified from I’ll Bring the Cake)

¾ cup buttermilk
⅔ cup sour cream
⅓ cup vegetable oil
4 egg whites
1 tablespoons raspberry emulsion (I used this one)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons freeze-dried raspberries, powdered in a food processor
1 box white cake mix
pink gel food dye, a couple of small drops

for the vanilla buttercream:
3 sticks (1½ cups) unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream (plus more if needed)
7 to 8 cups powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 325°F. Prepare three 6-inch round cake pans covering the bottom with parchment and spraying baking spray on the sides and bottom. Reserve.

In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, oil, egg whites, raspberry emulsion, vanilla and freeze-dried raspberries until thoroughly combined. Sift in the cake mix and pink foo dye, whisk until just combined. Split the batter evenly among the prepared pans.

Bake for 25 to 27 minutes, until the center is baked through. Let the cakes cool in the pan for about a minute before flipping them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap and transfer the cakes to the freezer for 30 minutes before proceeding with frosting. You can also save them in the fridge to continue the following day.

Make the buttercream: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until it’s light and fluffy. Add the salt, vanilla, and heavy cream and beat again until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time. Add a little more heavy cream if needed, then flip the mixer to high speed and beat until the buttercream is lighter in color and texture, about 2 minutes. Separate one cup of frosting to dye pink, leave the rest plain.

Assemble the cake: Place a cardboard cake round on a cake turntable. Dot a little bit of buttercream in the center of the round and spread it out with an angled icing spatula. Place the first chilled cake layer in the center. Add a layer of buttercream. Place the next cake layer on top, then repeat, making sure to line the layers up evenly. After adding the top cake layer, crumb coat the cake by spreading a thin layer of buttercream around the entire cake. Freeze the cake for 5 minutes.

To the reserved buttercream, add 1 drop of soft-pink gel coloring and stir to incorporate. Pipe hearts and little blobs, using a round tip for the hearts, and an open star to the little blobs. Cover the top with sprinkles and add a decorative border with a 1M piping tip.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This recipe is an example of “doctored cake mix”, in which you start with a box cake component but add bells and whistles to it. Many will twist their noses, I honestly do not see anything wrong, I can bake a cake from scratch, but don’t mind taking a little shortcut here and there. I donated the cake whole, and I don’t feel like asking volunteers to take pictures for me, they have a lot to think about during the dinners, so I cannot show you the inside. It got very nice reviews, though, so I am confident about sharing the recipe with my readers. The pink color I used is my all-time-fave, Dusty Rose. Every chance I get, I incorporate it into my bakes.

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12Jul2026

COCONUT LAMINGTONS

Posted in Cake, Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Maybe you know Haniela from her amazing cookie decorating skills, but she goes way beyond that: she is an accomplished baker on all sorts of areas. One of her husband’s favorite desserts is the Australian classic, Lamington. Hani has used this recipe for a long, long time and her blog post about it makes this potentially intimidating concoction pretty straightforward to make. Check her detailed article here.

COCONUT LAMINGTONS
(from Haniela’s blog)

for the sponge cake:
2 + 1/3 cup all purpose flour (330 grams)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 + 1/4 cup powdered sugar (150 grams)
6 tbsp oil (82-85 grams)
2 tbsp honey (45 grams)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup milk, at room temperature (240-250 grams)

for the chocolate glaze:
2 + 1/2 cup powdered sugar (300 grams)
1/2 cup cocoa powder (50 grams)
6 tbsp milk (90-95 grams)
1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams)
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
unsweetened coconut (1 + 1/2 5oz bags)

Heat oven to 350°F.

Line a 9×13-inch cake pan with parchment. Into a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat 4 large eggs with powdered sugar on medium-high, for 5-8 minutes, until pale in color. Then gradually beat in oil untill well combined. Then beat in honey and lastly add vanilla extract. Beat well. Gradually, on medium speed beat in flour mixture, alternating with room-temperature milk.

Pour cake batter into a prepared 9×13 inch cake pan. Use a spatula to evenly distribute the batter into a pan. Bake the cake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a cooling rack, cover it with a kitchen towel, and cool completely.

Trim the sides of the cake, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch off each side. Then cut the cake into 2-inch squares. Cover with a towel while you prepare the chocolate glaze so teh cake doesn’t crust around the edges.

Make the glaze: In a saucepan, combine powdered sugar, cocoa powder and milk. Heat on low heat until completely melted and smooth. Then, gradually add cut-up butter and heat the glaze until all the butter is melted. Whisk until the glaze is homogeneous. Remove from the heat, stir in vanilla extract. Keep chocolate glaze warm for dipping. Glaze thickens as it cools, simply warm it up as needed.

Pour glaze into a bowl, dip one square cake at a time. Use a fork to help you turn the cake to coat. Then let the cake sit on a fork and tap the fork or your wrist to release any excess glaze, allowing it to drip back into a bowl. Coat each glazed cake square in coconut.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The sponge cake component was a total dream to work with, perfect bake, flat, allowing me to cut square pieces without any struggle. I made the cake the day before, kept it covered with Saran wrap and a towel at room temperature. Next morning I cut the pieces, glazed and coated them with coconut. My advice is to work near a sink, rinse and dry your fingers after each piece that gets coated. It is a messy process but I thought it was going to be much worse. To coat in coconut, I dropped the glazed piece on the bowl, then used a fork to flip it. At that point I could hold the piece with my fingers touching the two sides that already had coconut on them, and coated the sides turning the piece with my hand. That worked well, using a fork was just too awkward for me. I donated the whole batch, but whenever I make a recipe for the first time, I save one for me and the husband to taste. Two thumbs all the way up, moist cake, delicious coating, chocolate and coconut make a wonderful match. I really hope you give Haniela’s recipe a try, it is a nice baking project to tackle, and you will feel quite accomplished later…

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20May2026

NUTELLA TARTLETS

Posted in Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

I saw these adorable tartlets on Instagram, fell in love and could not wait to try and make them myself. I invite you to follow Joyce, she is a wonderful baker, endless source of inspiration.

NUTELLA TARTLETS
(from @joyfulhomecooking)

for the dough:
1¾ cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
½ cup + 2 tbsp butter, room temperature

for the filling:
1 cup Nutella

In a bowl mix the flour, sugar and baking powder, add the egg, yolk and butter and bring the dough together. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough and cut circles, place them in a muffin pan. Fill with hazelnut spread. Cut sunflower shapes from the remaining dough using a cookie cutter and place on top.

Bake at 350F until lightly golden.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: To make these tartlets, I used two special gadgets: this set of baking pan from Evilcakegenius and this cookie cutter from PME. The dough was a pleasure to work with, I had no issues to roll, shape and cut the top shape.

It does get soft quickly, so you need to work with it while still cold and try to be fast, but if at any moment things get out of control, stick everything in the fridge for 10 minutes. Make sure to chill the cut daisy tops before moving them around, and be gentle, use a thin spatula to help you out.

I did not cut the center out as Joyce did, because I forgot. So I just improvised a little decoration on top instead. I intend to make them again in the near future, as they were a big hit. However, I might use a shallower tartlet format because they were truly super rich with the Nutella filling. Maybe a smaller version will work even better. Keep that in mind. One last thought, after Eha’s comment on the problems of Nutella and palm oil, I realize that not only there is a palm-free alternative, but I do have it in my pantry and it is pretty delicious: Soom spread, available here. You can avoid palm oil, but it is almost impossible to avoid the Amazon Evil Empire (sigh).
.

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12May2026

MERINGUE LOLLIPOPS

Posted in Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

These could easily fit into the Incredibly Simple category, but the outcome will make you seem like the most accomplished baker ever!

MERINGUE LOLLIPOPS
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

2 large egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pink and turquoise gel color

Position two oven racks towards the center of the oven and heat the oven to 200ºF. Cover a large baking sheets with parchment paper aside.

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Begin mixing on low speed gradually increasing to medium. Once the egg whites start to become frothy, about 30 seconds, slowly add the granulated sugar in three portions, continuing to whisk. Once all the sugar is incorporated, add the vanilla.

The meringue is done once the sugar has fully dissolved and it has a thick texture that holds a nice peak, about 10 to 15 minutes. Separate the batter in three portions, dye 1/3 pink, 1/3 turquoise, leave 1/3 plain. You are aiming for a pastel tone, so use just a small amount, preferably adding the color with the tip of a toothpick.

Transfer the meringue as three lines side by side on a plastic wrap. Roll the wrap like a sausage and insert into a large piping bag fitted with 1M tip. Lay small sticks (oven-safe) on the parchment paper and pipe swirls over the sticks. Immediately add decorative sprinkles.

Bake for 1 hour to 1h and 30 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the lollipops in the oven for another hour to fully dry. They will lift easily from the paper once they are fully cool.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Meringue recipes are a lot more forgiving than many people imagine. The ratio of sugar to egg whites will determine how dry the meringue will turn out, but also the amount of time you bake it influences that outcome. You can start – if you want to do it by weight – with 1 part of egg whites to 2 parts of sugar – although my version used slightly higher amount of sugar. It all works in the end. If you prefer a softer bite, use less sugar and bake for a shorter amount of time. It is important to dry them fully so that they can be handled without any sticky moisture on the surface.

And the cuteness level of meringue on a stick? Impossible to beat!

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13Feb2026

BAKING WITH LOVE

Posted in Cake, Cookies by sallybr

Valentine’s Day is just about here! Today I share a few ideas to sweeten up this special weekend… Make sure to visit my cookie blog tomorrow for a series of cookies that celebrate love. And now, let’s get started, shall we?

I open this post with a Vanilla Pound Cake with Hibiscus Glaze

VANILLA POUND CAKE WITH HIBISCUS GLAZE
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

for the cake:
3 sticks (339g) unsalted butter, softened (room temperature)
8 oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature (one regular package)
2 + 1/2 cups (500g) sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
6 Eggs, at room temperature
3 cups (375g) flour

for the glaze:
3 tablespoons hibiscus tea
200g powdered sugar
squeeze of lemon juice

Heat oven to 325F.

Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar with hand mixer until light and fluffy. Pound cakes do not contain leavening agent, so make sure to work the butter until fluffy. Add salt and vanilla, beat well.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Gradually mix in the three cups of flour.

Pour into well greased bundt pan. Bake for about 90 minutes, covering with foil if the top gets too brown before a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Wait for 15 minutes before un-molding over a rack. Let the cake cool completely, then make a glaze whisking all the ingredients. Pour the glaze over the cake, decorate with sprinkles, if desired.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe click here

Comments: The Bundt pan I used is this one. Any cake will look good with a simple dusting of powdered sugar, but I decided to go with a light glaze and sprinkles.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED
BROWNIE HEARTS

If your heart is set on chocolate, but you don’t feel like a simple tray of brownies, here is a very cute idea… Bake the brownies in a heart-shape silicone mold, then use the same mold to coat each piece in chocolate (I went with compound chocolate dyed red). I used these molds to bake and coat the brownies. And my favorite recipe for the little cakes (check here).

When you bake the brownies, the bottom side, that touches the mold, will be super flat. You can flip them when you coat and place the non-flat side touching the chocolate. That will end up smooth, so both sides of your little cakes will be nice and flat.

So the process goes like this: bake the brownies, cool them completely in the mold. Freeze for 10 minutes to make sure the brownie will be nice and firm. Remove cakes. Wash the mold, dry well. Melt compound chocolate in the color of your choice, add a layer to the bottom of the mold and immediately insert the cake back. Push gently all the way down. Make sure you see the chocolate coming up a bit around the edges, no need to come all the way to the top. Freeze for 15 minutes. Un-mold, and decorate.

Once they are coated, you can pipe a drizzle of melted chocolate and add sprinkles.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED OREOS

No need for recipe, just a little festive decoration, made with Royal icing and sanding sugar. Leftover melted chocolate was used to form little hearts using this mold.

VALENTINE’S SQUARE CAKE

I cannot share the recipe, as it is copyrighted. Published as Sunny Sprinkle Layer Cake, it is in a great book by Molly Gilbert called Sheet Pan Sweets. I baked it in a half-sheet pan, then cut 4 squares to make the layers, used a simple American Buttercream to frost it. It was not easy to frost smoothly a square cake, but oh, well. What does not kill you, makes you stronger.